Teen Ring Steals Hondas

Authorities Say A Large Group Based In The Apopka-zellwood Area Is Behind A Rash Of Thefts.

December 2, 2000|By Stephanie Erickson of The Sentinel Staff

MOUNT DORA -- The thefts of four Honda automobiles recovered in the city this week were the work of a large teenager-run Central Florida theft ring based out of the Apopka-Zellwood area, authorities said Friday.

"For us to start seeing all of this is pretty significant," Mount Dora police Detective Guy Dailey said.

The "organized group" is spending time in Mount Dora because it conveniently sits near the Orange County line about 10 miles from Apopka, authorities said. And while none of the juvenile thieves are from Mount Dora, they likely have acquaintances in the area.

"We're pretty confident that they know some people here," Dailey said.

The teenagers are stealing four-door Hondas -- 1995 to 1998 models -- from mostly Orange and Seminole counties. The thieves are joy riding the cars for a few days before stripping them of radios and other parts and then abandoning them or using them in demolition derbies, police said.

"When we find them, they are in pretty rough shape," said Steve Olson, spokesman for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.

Honda Accords have been on car thieves' top-10 list for several years, according to National Insurance Crime Bureau rankings.

Authorities say the thieves have found a "real creative" way to break into the cars.

"They can bend the window without breaking it," Olson said.

More than a dozen Hondas have been stolen from southern Seminole County along the State Road 436 corridor during the past two weeks. Altamonte Springs has been hit the hardest, authorities said.

Collaboration among several law-enforcement agencies could put the brakes on the thefts soon.

"Our detectives are right in the middle of it, and it's getting kind of hot," said Officer Ken Letourneau, spokesman for the Apopka Police Department. "They want to get these guys."

Authorities would not discuss details of the ongoing investigation. A city-county auto-theft task force for Seminole and Brevard counties met Thursday to discuss the Seminole Honda thefts.

In Mount Dora on Thursday, police arrested two juveniles and recovered four Hondas.

That morning, police found a Honda reported stolen from Seminole County in a parking lot at Bristol Lakes Apartments. Its ignition had been punched out and likely started with a screwdriver, police said.

At 7:30 p.m. a Honda was reported stolen from Bristol Lakes. Police found the car six hours later parked on Jackson Avenue with a 15-year-old Zellwood youth asleep inside. He was arrested and charged with grand theft auto, a felony.

Authorities say Bristol Lakes offers quick access in and out of two parts of the city because it has an entrance off U.S. Highway 441 and another off Limit Avenue, which borders a high-crime area of the city.

Also on Thursday, Mount Dora police spotted another Honda backing into a driveway on Highland Street, south of Bristol Lakes. It had been reported stolen in the Apopka area and had been followed by Seminole County deputy sheriffs.

The driver got out of the vehicle and ran. Police arrested the 15-year-old from Apopka after chasing him several blocks and charged him with grand theft auto.

While police were making that arrest, another Honda was discovered about four blocks away. It had been taken from Orange County.

In November, officers found a Honda reported stolen from Orange County outside the Highlander Hotel with two teenagers asleep inside. A 16-year-old Apopka boy was charged with auto theft.

Authorities recommend that Honda owners take precautions, such as buying an alarm system or a safety device that locks down the steering wheel.

"They don't care if the doors are locked," Dailey said. "With these Hondas it takes them 15 seconds to get in."